Byul knew how to forage, and Byul knew how to shoot, but the one thing she couldn't figure out was to freaking cook.  Wheein sat by their tiny fire, trembling in her boots.  Hwasa was fussing about around her, shedding off layers of her jacket, wrapping it around Wheein and cooing senseless things at her to get her to calm down.

It had been a while since they saw Wheein in a state like this.  Normally she was okay, as long as she took her medicine, and cleaned her wound every night, she was normally OK but tonight...

Moonbyul abandoned her raw pork to put a hand on Wheein's shoulders.  Hwasa's eyes shot up frantically, and then back down when she recognized Moonbyul's comforting smile.

"She's going to be okay, Hyejin-ie."

Hwasa looked like she wanted to argue but the words wouldn't form in .  She was still humming for Wheein, her voice surprisingly stable, unlike her hands which were shaking at light speed.

Wheein leaned her head forward against Hwasa's chest.

"H-hyejin-n-nie," she croaked.

Hwasa wrapped her arms around her best friend, pulling her closer.

"Yeah it's me.  Just... just try to breathe slowly.  Think about me, I'm Hyejin.  You've known me since seventh grade.  You like puppies, and drawing, and..."

"I c-can't feel my f-f-fingers," she stammered.

Hwasa pulled away slightly so she could lace their fingers together.  She wiggled their hands around.

"Can you feel them now?  Hey-" she turned Wheein's head to stare at their interlocked hands, "look?  Can you see how they're moving?  Can you feel that?"

Wheein concentrated really hard, and she could feel something.  It was like her whole body was on pins and needles.  She looked back up at Hwasa's face.  It looked really strange, her brow was furrowed in concern, but she was trying to smile, forcing the edges of to turn upwards but it just looked like a sad grimace.

"H-hyejin-ah," she said softly, "d-don't be upset."

Wheein could feel her senses returning.  She was suddenly hot under too many jackets, but she didn't shake them off just yet.  She leaned forward against Hwasa's chest, this time her body recognized the embrace, and nuzzled into her for support.

"I'm okay now," she whispered, "it's okay."

They just held each other like that for a while.  Moonbyul had since returned to cooking, or trying to cook, as she looked around for a flat rock she could maybe try to heat over the fire, and place her piece of meat on top of.  

Once Wheein was tired out, Hwasa laid her down for a nap, and begrudgingly joined Moonbyul in the kitchen.  The kitchen which was her log, sitting on one side of the fire pit they made in the middle of a woodland forest.  It was unsafe to camp out in the wildnerness overnight, but they hadn't made it as far as the next city yet.  Hwasa watched the sky turn pale blue from behind the clouds.  It threatened to rain, but she threatened the sky right back with her deadly glare.  If the fire they took one hour to make went out, she'd never forgive the sky for letting Wheein freeze to death.

"It's probably just the medicine," Moonbyul said quietly.

"She's never reacted like this before," Hwasa snapped.

"Maybe the effect is finally kicking in, or maybe..." Moonbyul frowned, "maybe the virus is fighting back?"

Hwasa leaned over to touch Wheein's head, and felt that she was hot.

"She has a fever," she murmured.

"Her body is doing the best it can.  If she's hot right now it's because her immune system is trying to melt the disease right out of her."

"It's also going to melt the life right out of her too."

"She'll be okay," Moonbyul said again, and Hwasa just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and I'm going to be the next queen of sheba."

//

Once Moonbyul caught her reflection in the lake she groaned. Of course she hadn't planned it like this, no one warned her about what the post-apocalypic hair trends would be, but almost half her hair was pitch black, and the other, a faded, ashy, blonde.  She wanted to cut it soon, but she didn't exactly have many options in the hair styling department.

It had been years since she dyed her hair that color, just a few months after the epidemic started actually, but the government assured them it would be no big issue.  Getting her hair regularly dyed was a privelege she had, one she would've never dreamed would be taken away so quickly.  She searched her arms for a rubberband tied her hair up in a standard ponytail, hiding the blonde away behind her head, and setting her fringe in place.

She sat up from beside the lake, and peered around the camp site.  It was a lucky find.  Two days of traveling and they finally made it out of the forest but still no skyline popped up.  Instead they found the BTS clan.  Moonbyul approached them warily, but recognized her friend JHope from elementary school.

Were they friends?

Maybe he pulled on Moonbyul's ponytail.

Or maybe she stole his fish crackers at lunch.

Either way, they were friends now, eating out of the same can, and sharing the same electric heater.

"How do you guys charge this thing?" Wheein asked in awe.

"There's a big powerplant about 10 miles north of here.  We can't check up on it often, but we've managed to set up a radio signal, and the BtoB guys keep a watch on the electrical front, while we mostly hang around here, gathering food, and making trips back to divide and distribute."

"Sounds like a pretty sweet set up."

JHope grinned at Moonbyul proudly. "It is."

She stared down at her lap.  

It wasn't that she didn't trust them, or that she didn't want to stay.

She felt Hwasa's eyes boring into the side of her head.

"Maybe we'll set up shop here, permanently," she suggested.  The boys all hollered in agreement.

Now she felt Hwasa's hand, constricting her blood flow as her nails dug into the skin of her forearm.

"Maybe," Moonbyul said slowly, "but I think we have to get going soon."

"But why?"

She looked back at the other two.  Hwasa was still glaring, and Wheein looking down at her plate solemnly.

"We're just... better off on our own."

//

Another week of painstaking travels and the three were about to pass out in the middle of an open field right when Wheein shouted, "LAND HO!"

"What are you talking about?  We're on land right now?"

"Then city ho!"

"What's city ho?" Moonbyul asked.

Hwasa smirked.  "It's what we call girls like you back in Jeonju."

Moonbyul frowned and smacked Hwasa upside her head.

"What the hell?"

"Don't forget I'm your Unnie."

"I'm not the one who forgets, you're the one always asking for cuddles."

"I can be an Unnie and ask for cuddles, what are you trying to say?"

Wheein pushed their heads apart as they were nearing each other dangerously and turned them to face to the right.

"Look at what I'm seeing you idiots.  It's a city.  A real city."

"Wheein-ah," Hwasa sighed, "that's just a town.  A small town."

"It's better than grass and trees isn't it?  There could be real bathrooms, real beds there.  Stop arguing and start running."

She took off without waiting, laughing as she heard their cries coming from behind.  She was fast.  She sprinted through the field into the dirt town and breathed in deeply like she'd been underwater for several minutes and was tasting air for the first time.

Everything surrounding her was brown.  Brown terrace roofs, and brown buildings, and brown, dirt, streets, with the occasional cobblestone path highlighting the way around town but it was clear this place had been abandoned quite a while ago.  That dampened her excitement a bit.

She felt her smile fall just a fraction of an inch before looking around to find something else to latch onto.  There was a shop!  She ran to it, hopping over the counter joyfully and checking underneath the table for snacks.  

There was nothing there.

This place was woefully empty.  Nothing and no one lived here.

"Are you okay?"

Wheein jumped, feeling Hwasa's hand suddenly touch her shoulder.

She composed herself quickly and smiled.  

"Yeah I'm okay.  I was just wondering if they might have any Swedish Fish."

"Swedish Fish, why?"

Wheein grinned.  "Oh I don't know.  This looks like a strange town.  We could find anything here, I bet.  Even those -um- what are those American chips called unnie?  the red triangles?"

"Doritos," Moonbyul replied.

Hwasa raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"You have a craving for Swedish Fish and Doritos?"

Wheein shrugged.

"It's not a craving."  She sighed, eyes sweeping over the barren landscape once again.  As she ran her hand along the dusty shelf, she pictured jars full of candies sitting behind the glass.  "Not a craving," she murmured, "just a dream."